


Skillful Fingers

by countingonthecountess



Category: The Arcana (Visual Novel)
Genre: Fluff, lots and lots of fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-28
Updated: 2018-06-28
Packaged: 2019-05-30 01:11:23
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,010
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15085742
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/countingonthecountess/pseuds/countingonthecountess
Summary: The apprentice wakes up with Julian and makes quite the discovery about him.





	Skillful Fingers

**Author's Note:**

> This is a cute little headcanon I had before it was canonically revealed that Julian is ticklish, so hey, I wrote it! Now we can just assume that this apprentice did not do the pat-down thing. Enjoy some fluff, peeps. ;)

The first thing I hear this morning is the sonorous chorus of the birds outside.  The first thing I see, however, is a  _ totally  _ different story.  It's bleary at first, but comes into focus in a matter of seconds, and let me tell you,  _ I like what I see. _

 

Julian is lying on his back beside me, awake as usual, staring up at the ceiling.  The sheets are pushed all the way down to his calves, leaving his chest completely exposed.  And I mean  _ completely _ .  He isn't even wearing his shirt.  This is new, coming from him.

“Morning, Julian.” I mumble, making no effort to move in the bed.

“Ah.  You’re awake.  Good morning, my dear.” He shifts onto his side to face me.  I chuckle as he brushes some of the auburn locks out of his eye.  “Well, doesn't someone look cosy?” I glance down and register the fact that I'm still wrapped up in the sheets.

“It's warm.  I like it like this.”

“My goodness.  How are you  _ not  _ boiling like a lobster?!” He throws out an arm dramatically and flops onto his back again as he speaks.  I can't help but giggle at his antics.

“That explains why you're half uncovered  _ and  _ undressed.”

“Oh!  Uh, if you're uncomfortable with it, I can-”

“No!  I… I mean, no need.  It's okay. I wouldn't want you to boil to death.”

 

He's already reached down the side of the bed for his shirt when I stop him, but he retracts his hand and turns back to face me, chuckling at my last remark.  I idly run a hand up his bare stomach, which looks and feels so  _ very _ firm and muscular, but he flinches away slightly.  I look up at his face with a slightly concerned expression, hoping everything's alright.

“Oh, don't worry.  Just a shiver.”

“A shiver?  I thought you just said you were  _ boiling _ !”

“Uh.  Yes. I did just say that.” I'm about to press it further when an idea pops into my head.  I lift a finger to his head as if I'm about to tilt his chin, brushing it along his neck. “Stop it!!” He whines as his head shrinks back almost like a turtle's, and he instinctively pushes my hand down with his.  It takes me a matter of moments to understand what's happening.

“Oh my god.” I look up at him, a cheeky grin forming on my face.  He stares back in total bewilderment.

“What?  What is it?” He sounds legitimately clueless to what I just realised.

“You… You're ticklish, aren't you?”

 

His eyes widen as he shifts uncomfortably on the bed.

“...Maybe?” Oh, it's too late for that.  He is most definitely ticklish. And I'm not going to let him forget it.  I push my hands again the bed to lift myself up and quite literally jump onto him.  His chest and stomach are currently the most exposed areas, so that’s what I got for.  Erupting into laughter, he thrashes about beneath my fingers, desperately trying to wriggle away.  I try not to let him get way, which isn’t easy to do while simultaneously trying to dodge the flailing limbs so as  _ not _ to be on the receiving end of an unintentional kick or elbow.  After seconds of tickling ‘torture’, he finally escapes… By falling right off the bed.

“Julian!  Are you alright?!” I scramble to the edge of the bed and find him flat on his back, face redder than his hair, still trying to catch his breath, but seemingly alright.

 

“Good morning, you two!” Julian and I whip our heads in the direction of the door as Mazelinka edges it open and steps into the room.  She pauses when she gets a good look at us both. This must look like a weird scenario from her perspective. “Oh dear, I hope I haven’t interrupted anything!” I awkwardly meet Julian’s eyes.  This isn’t what she probably thinks it is.  _ At all _ .

“You uh.  You didn’t interrupt anything, don’t worry.  Nothing at all.” He stands up, taking his shirt with him, and puts it on.

“If you say so.  Breakfast is ready, so you can come and get it!” She winks knowingly before disappearing back into the kitchen.

“Well… I'll uh.  I'll let you get ready.” He slips out of the room after Mazelinka, leaving me alone to get dressed for the day.

 

I enter the kitchen to find Julian sitting with some form of cooked, worm-like thing on a stick in his hand.

“There you are!” Mazelinka hands me a stick with a similar thing on it.  She must notice the uncertainty written on my face. “Roasted caecilian. It's delicious.” Well, I've eaten blue-tongued skinks before, thanks to Asra constantly trying out new recipes, so…  I take a small bite and find that it  _ is  _ quite tasty.  Casting a brief glance at Julian, I see that he's already finished his.  Once I finally get to the last bite of my caecilian, we say goodbye to Mazelinka and head out into the city.

 

“So, what adventure shall we embark upon today?” Julian leans against the wall in an alley, regarding me with a mischievous grin.

“I guess we'll see what comes to us, and take it from there.” The thing is, we hardly ever go seeking trouble or mishaps.  They just naturally come to us.

“As long as we do it together, my dear, I'm fine with whatever comes to us.” He wraps a hand around my waist and sweetly presses his lips to mine.  When we pull apart, I reach out to tuck an auburn lock behind his ear, letting my hand linger. His iridescent grey eyes meet mine, his gaze filled with a certain softness and affection.

 

Without warning, my fingers curl near his ear to brush the skin behind it.  He involuntarily springs away, almost falling over.

“Now that you've figured out that… Uh, that I'm ticklish… You're not going to let me forget it, are you?”

I chuckle softly as I retract my hand.  “Not a chance in hell.”


End file.
